I have been watching some of the various shows on TV and some of the restoration shows quite often mention they use powder coating instead of paint because it is more substantial surface that’s less subject to things like tipping. Now here is my question I don’t know much about powder coating can it be used for small items can it be used for copper jewelry what would be any drawbacks how much does it obscured any design on the medal I want to know more because I would
powder coating is a modest thickness by coating standards, and as such it can act as fill and obscure designs with fine detail and muddy other designs. Powder is however laserable, and can be done in an inlay fashion if care is taken.
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Thank you it does sound for maybe my form folding were designs are deeper and the laser ability is intriguing this is another
Typically powder coating is used for larger surfaces. You should probably look at the prices of the powder coat. For jewelry, I’d be using enamel before I’d cheese up my project with powder coat. Powder coat is better than paint, to be sure. If you were going to use paint, then powder coat is a step up.
The restoration stuff is typically big metal boxes, where enameling is too much. It does depend on the equipment one owns, too. Jewelry has the nice small enameling kilns. The powder coat oven is big enough for a fender. Granted, you could probably use the enamel kiln – just limit the temp. PC is too hot for your oven, but downright chilly compared to the norms for enamel.
the big one is, but there’s a toaster oven for powder coating, too… and those aren’t the only options that one might employ for powder coating (in general; they might be the only options @ DMS). Heat guns work, too, for small area coatings…
That doesn’t mean this would be good for what Cairenn’s wanting to do, but just to say there ARE options for smaller work.
Enameling is cool, too, and generally seems like a better option for jewelry, I agree.
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Enameling is there’s a and I used to make a lot of copper and Emma Beach but there are a drawback to enameled applied to your middle chips and cracks it’s not a good substance do you I’m always curious to try new things and explore new techniques
I would very much like to know more about laserable inlays and powder coating, if you might have a few moments to expound.
Do you mean it might be possible to use the lasers to engrave, say, a HEMI logo on piece of flat metal, and then leave the piece in the same laser and apply powder coating into and around the engraved area, and rerun the laser at, I’m assuming, a lower power setting to sinter the powder coating so that it precisely fills only the engraving? Because I can see a lot of uses for that.
Or am I totally off-base and misunderstanding?
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You don’t use the laser to cure the powder, the entire piece just ends up back in the oven. Assuming the surface is kept clean it doesn’t matter if the existing powder is brought back to cure temperature, barring some exceptions with special powders that may have texture or lighting effects to account for but those will be specific to that powder.
You apply a mask of high temperature tape like Kapton, which is laserable, and leave it on. Clean the lasered area and inlay that way. Any overspray beyond the stencil can be simply brushed off before tossing in the oven
This Aperture Science water bottle I did is an example of inlay powder coating: Show and Tell August 2020
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Ah! Thanks @hon1nbo for taking the time to explain. Makes perfect sense. Very cool! Much appreciated!
Sounds like some interesting effects can be created looks like I’m going to have